Yea! Happy Dance!
Hospital stay varies, but around 3 days if no complications. I teach, and was off work 6 weeks. What kind of work do you do? Your body is going through major chemical adjustments and you tire very easily. Don't try to spend much time looking down to read, it makes your face swell and feel stuffy. Prop up reading materials. It can take months for IGF-1 to drop all the way, even with completely successful surgery, but you'll start seeing soft tissue changes within days.
Take care to avoid infections between now and surgery date. Good luck!

Wow! That long! I have a clinical job for CA; had asked and received 2 weeks off (w/o specifying the reason). The doc had said the op would take 3 hrs. And the hospital. Stay would be 2 days.... Somehow, I thought it would be a bit of a sinus headache, grogginess post op, and then only the decrease of the IGF-1 and GH!

I'm a bit concerned abt having discontinued the meds, per MD order- since I had achieved the ranges that are considered normal. But I was informed that they wanted to see whether the surgery alone will
have cured me.

So, no bending lifting or twisting for over a month! I guess that will be the end of most of my enjoyable activities! The possibility of not needing those injections and the paranoia of being told that I've outlived my treatment benefits, plus, of course being "cured" as no meds can, is worth it. Thank you for your reply.

Hi Tennisusan! It's great that your tumor has shrunk. I think hospital stay durations are highly dependent on who does the surgery. I was in for two days (would have preferred longer) and I've heard of people being in for several days.

I had surgery over a month ago and I still have daily headaches, fatigue and sinus pain. Before surgery I was told I needed to take a minimum of two weeks off, but I took four and could not have imagined going back to work any sooner. My recovery has been a lot more challenging than I expected, in part because I had electrolyte issues post-surgery, which likely prolonged my recovery.

If you'd like to correspond privately or ask more specific questions, please send me a message. I found it was helpful to talk with a few different people about their experience. Everyone's story seemed to be quite different

Wishing you the best of luck with your time leading up to surgery. I hope your surgery and recovery go smoothly.

pG

I had surgery in march and was in hospital for 2 weeks I still have some residual tumour. I tire easily have headaches still but I'm in good hands I'm having problems with my knees so I'm still if work with that also good luck

A large tumor, a macroadenoma, can be more difficult to remove and is more likely to come back than a smaller microadenoma. I had a macroadenoma, but it was fairly straightforward and unencumbered. It took me some few days only, I think 3. It did come back.

My situation was a bit unusual in this regard. The tumor was not soft, but hard, making it difficult to get. Not all was removed, in fact. Also, I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and as such do not accept blood. So the doctor (a fine surgeon at UVA) had to take extra care. Even so, he advised me I would bleed and it would go down my throat into my stomach, and I'd be quite nauseous.

Imagine his surprise when I came out of the surgery feeling no pain at all, even surprised I'd had the surgery, and wanted solid food. No bleeding whatsoever!

But this is not about me, it's about you. Don't expect total success, frankly. Expect this to be an ongoing part of your life. True, some may experience no further difficulties after surgery, but I strongly expect it's the exception rather than the norm.

I have since had gamma knife and we are figuring out how successful that enterprise was!

I was in the hospital 2 days. It was not nearly as bad as I expected. Couldn't bend or lift anything for a month. Very stuffy initially. Afrin helped for first week or so ( be sure to check if you can use it). I felt pretty good and was debating going back to work after 2 weeks but then had an issue with massive nosebleeds. This is supposedly VERY uncommon, I was just unlucky. It was extremely scary. It required a second surgery and two more days in the hospital. This set me back. In total I was out of work 5 weeks. If not for the complication I could have gone back after 3. You will get very tired for a few months. I just had my 6 month MRI and no sign of tumor returning. My blood tests
are good too. It was worth it. Good luck. If you have more questions feel free to write again or send me a message.

Six weeks off was the standard guideline at my hospital, though I went back to work after five weeks as I had convinced my GP I was well enough to work. I did take it a bit easy (shortened hours, avoiding peak commute hours) for a week or two.

It is easy to become exhausted the first week or two after the op, but your energy does come back.

My hospital stay was five days, but that is because the endocrinologists wanted to monitor blood levels rather than anything else. (Also here in the UK there are no insurance companies breathing down anyone's neck.)

John

Thank you all for your input. You all confirmed what the hospital staff intonated- it is a very individual thing, and really depends upon several factors; not all are evident before surgery. I am now awaiting registration at the hospital, and I'm due to begin in less than three hours. My daughter dropped me off. She couldn't hold back tears and she suddenly recognized the gravity of this. I felt closer to her than ever, and I thank G-d for guiding her and for all my supportive friends and family (across the country). Hopefully, the next time I write, I'll have good news.. Thank you!